JJ smiled as she breathed in deeply. There was something so different about the air in Paris, as if it were filled with the very essence of stylish living. Even though she was here to give Emily her new identities, there were still a few precious days available for her and her alone to explore the City of Lights. Her time over in Afghanistan had come to an end at the same time as Emily's rehabilitation, so JJ had begged Cruz to let her be the one to do the handoff.

There had been something about his gaze that bothered her, though, as if he couldn't quite understand why she would want to add more time away from her family rather than rush right home to them. She couldn't tell him, or Erin, that the thought of being alone with Will and Henry again filled her with an inexplicable dread, as if she was waiting for some news that she didn't want to hear.

"Is this seat taken?"

JJ looked up into the handsome face of a stranger and smiled as she shook her head. "No, go ahead."

The man nodded and stretched out his legs as he watched her. "Are you here for business or pleasure?" he asked, and she struggled to place his accent. She knew that it was from somewhere in her travels, but she just couldn't place it.

"A little bit of both, actually," she replied, giving him a small smile.

"That's always the best thing to hear." He signaled for the waitress to come over, and quickly ordered some coffee. As he waited for it to come, he focused his attention back on her. "So, you're from America, right?"

She nodded, and settled back into her chair as she thought of what to say to him. "I wish that I could place your accent, though it sounds so familiar to me."

"I'm from Louisiana, though for the last ten years, I've lived in Quebec. No one can ever place my accent. I'm James, by the way."

"Jennifer," she replied, holding out her hand to him. They shook hands firmly, and a small part of her wished that she was here purely for pleasure, as she would love to get to know this man better. "I wish that I had a lot of time to stay here and talk with you, but I'm only going to be here about fifteen more minutes."

"Then we'll have to pour as much into these fifteen minutes as possible," he smoothly replied, and she couldn't stop the giggle that came to her lips, The fifteen minutes flew by, and JJ found herself getting ready to exchange emails with him when the reason for her trip to Paris floated to the top of her mind. "It's okay, you don't have to share your email with me, I know how unorthodox this meeting was."

"And I wish that I was free to give it to you, however…well, my job is such that I really can't give that to you. Though I did enjoy talking to you."

"I did, too." She stood, and he followed suit, watching her leave. Letting out a deep breath, she made her way to Notre Dame and slipped inside the building, heading to the side chapel that she had been instructed to find. There was an older man waiting there for her, and he smiled as he nodded to her. "The blackbird flies at dawn."

"And the dove flies for peace."

She instantly relaxed as she got the right response to her phrase. "Do you have the package?"

He nodded and handed her a large manila envelope. "Everything is in there, as requested. There are a few different dossiers available for her to use, and each is equipped with a fully stocked bank account. Since we aren't certain of the length of her need, there will be additional funds deposited as needed. Do you have any questions?"

"Not that I can think of. If you don't mind, I'll soak up some of the atmosphere here." The older man nodded and she made her way over to the sanctuary, genuflecting before taking a seat in one of the pews and letting the weight of centuries soak into her bones. There was something so comforting about the silence that she soon found herself relaxed enough to freely cry. There was still a hole in her heart that yawned open, and she wasn't certain if anything would ever fill it.

Finally, though, she knew that she had to get moving if she was to meet Emily on time and make the handoff. Standing up, she took one last look at the altar ahead of her, wishing that she had more faith in God. Maybe it would offer her the same comfort that it gave Rossi. Shaking her head a little, she pulled her trench coat up a little higher around her neck before leaving the cathedral and quickly hailing a cab.
Thankful for her halting French, she asked the driver to let her off a few blocks away from the café that she was using as her contact point. After paying him an obscenely large tip, she asked him to meet her in the same place in five minutes time. A small part of JJ knew that if she didn't impose a strict time limit, she would be likely to stay and try to talk to Emily. And that wouldn't be fair to her, or to the team that thought her dead, and so it had to be this way.

The air had turned cool during her cab ride, and she shivered a little as she took a seat at the table, waiting for Emily to join her. They nodded to each other as she passed the envelope across the table. "There's a few new identities in there for you, along with bank accounts that should keep you comfortable for the months to come."

JJ yearned to reach across the table and hold onto Emily's hand, even for a moment, but she knew that if she did that, she might never let go, so she clenched her hand into a fist as she smiled at her friend. They nodded to each other before Emily stood and disappeared into the night.

Sighing deeply, JJ pushed away from the table and made her way over to where she had arranged to meet the cabbie. Her shoulders slumped in relief when she saw him there, and she got in the back seat, asking him to take her back to her hotel. The lights of Paris glimmered outside the window, and she felt a pang of longing in her heart for Will. They had never really taken a true vacation together, and this would be the perfect place for them to get away to.

She must had dozed off, since the cabbie was waking her up by talking loudly in rapid fire French. Nodding, she dug out more money and shoved it through the window before stumbling out of the cab and heading up to her room.

The moment she was safely inside, she flopped back onto her mattress and stared up at the ceiling. And suddenly, she knew that she had to get back to the BAU, she had to be a member once more, and she would do anything that she possibly could to be with her friends once more.